David Prowse Banned From 'Star Wars' Party

[Tribal Warfare]

Darth Vader Banned From 'Star Wars' Party

Things aren't going well for the original Dark Lord of the Sith.

Dave Prowse, who wore the Darth Vader costume in the first three 'Star Wars' films, has been banned from the forthcoming Lucas Film Star Wars Celebration party in Orlando, Florida. Not only that, he's been told his presence won't be welcome at any Lucas Film/Star Wars-related events.

As Prowse announced on his website: "It is with regret that I have been informed by my friends at C2 Ventures, Ben and Phillip, that I am not to be invited to C5 this year or any other Lucas Film associated events. After enquiring, the only thing I have been told is that I have 'burnt too many bridges between Lucas Film and myself' -- no other reason given ..."

Hmmm. There could be a reason, though, seeing as Uncle George is probably fuming at the comments Prowse recently made to SlashFilm about not receiving any residual payment for 'Return of the Jedi' -- because it didn't make a profit(!): "I get these occasional letters from Lucasfilm saying that we regret to inform you that as Return of the Jedi has never gone into profit, we've got nothing to send you. Now here we're talking about one of the biggest releases of all time ..."

Maybe poor old Dave should learn to keep his mouth shut. Otherwise we'll have to sit through another re-release of the original films with Prowse's presence completely replaced by a digital Vader. Seriously, you know it could happen ...

[Fat Elvis]

Originally Posted by morphius

He is still digesting the news.

On Tatooine, the news digests you.

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Maybe he was getting paid by the line.


I always wondered how they cast him and how he won the job. His role was to wear a costume that fully obscured all of his features and to have no speaking lines and simply walk to his spots and occasionally raise an arm to strangle an Imperial commander.

How do you win a job like that? Did they have a big casting call where everybody walked around and occasionally raised their strangling arm? Were the casting people writing emphatic notes like, "Walks kind of funny" or "abnormally long gait - is that Darth?" How many callbacks did they have? Was it like six callbacks while they thought more and more deeply about the length of Darth's stride and the radius of his forearms? I'd like to have seen that process.

Given the fact that, IIRC, almost everyone involved in making the first film thought it was going to be a giant disastrous farce, Prowse was probably the first guy who agreed to do it, LOL. Hindsight is 20/20. Really, though, what could he have done? Held out for a bigger salary for "Empire" and "Return"? Lucas would've simply said, "Dude, you're in a ****ing suit, I can pretty much hire anyone since the only requirements are height and being able to walk."

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I always wondered how they cast him and how he won the job. His role was to wear a costume that fully obscured all of his features and to have no speaking lines and simply walk to his spots and occasionally raise an arm to strangle an Imperial commander.

How do you win a job like that? Did they have a big casting call where everybody walked around and occasionally raised their strangling arm? Were the casting people writing emphatic notes like, "Walks kind of funny" or "abnormally long gait - is that Darth?" How many callbacks did they have? Was it like six callbacks while they thought more and more deeply about the length of Darth's stride and the radius of his forearms? I'd like to have seen that process.

Speaking of just acting in a suit, I was in DC a few weeks ago and saw the original C3PO suit at the American History Smithsonian. That guy must have been tiny. It is much smaller than you would think.

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by arc

Speaking of just acting in a suit, I was in DC a few weeks ago and saw the original C3PO suit at the American History Smithsonian. That guy must have been tiny. It is much smaller than you would think.

Yeah, Anthony Daniels is pretty slim. He had it rough. Then again, the little dude in the R2D2 outfit didn't have a great time either, I bet. Nor did the guy wearing the rug as Chewbacca. When you think about it, a lot of the actors in that film had shitty jobs.

[Swanman]

Originally Posted by morphius

He is still digesting the news.

He made it out. A silly sarlacc pit can't keep Boba down.

[the Talking Can]

he could party with these guys

[Taco John]

I wonder what kind of residuals are written in that guy's contract. Funny to me that you can get residuals for wearing a suit and shaking your fists now and again.

[Mr. Laz]

i get the feeling that George Lucas is pretty much a hard ass prick.


but